― Artistic Expression Critique ⇒ Castle Creation, Help Needed

[minniev]

try this… I am suspecting that it is saturation that holds the issue. Convert the image to B/W (just to see it without any color at all). Fix any issues, adding shadows, changing brightness, etc until it looks OK. Then slowly reapply your color and see at what point it goes Kaput. I am thinking it looks ok from a sharpness point of view, and the shadows/lighting (on the surface anyway) looks ok, so it might be color too strong.

Good idea, I'll try it.

BTW, is that your hand sticking out of the hole in the lower wall?

[Psjunkie]

Also think about clipping masks with your adjustments of the characters if they are cut out separately......I do see one hard round brush stroke above the owl, an inadvertent click no doubt..think of some of the surrounding color reflecting on to your characters as another way to blend them into the scene in addition to getting the light right.......

[PietFrancke]

try this… I am suspecting that it is saturation that holds the issue. Convert the image to B/W (just to see it without any color at all). Fix any issues, adding shadows, changing brightness, etc until it looks OK. Then slowly reapply your color and see at what point it goes Kaput. I am thinking it looks ok from a sharpness point of view, and the shadows/lighting (on the surface anyway) looks ok, so it might be color too strong.

Good idea, I'll try it.

BTW, is that your hand sticking out of the hole in the lower wall?

Nope - this is all you! My hand is not in this. I agree with Frank about the idea of blending in some of the surrounding colors on the figures. I am thinking that it isn't saturation that is off, it is that the colors are so "pure" - (uncontaminated by their surroundings)

[minniev]

try this… I am suspecting that it is saturation that holds the issue. Convert the image to B/W (just to see it without any color at all). Fix any issues, adding shadows, changing brightness, etc until it looks OK. Then slowly reapply your color and see at what point it goes Kaput. I am thinking it looks ok from a sharpness point of view, and the shadows/lighting (on the surface anyway) looks ok, so it might be color too strong.

Good idea, I'll try it.

BTW, is that your hand sticking out of the hole in the lower wall?

Nope - this is all you! My hand is not in this. I agree with Frank about the idea of blending in some of the surrounding colors on the figures. I am thinking that it isn't saturation that is off, it is that the colors are so "pure" - (uncontaminated by their surroundings)

I'm not entirely sure how to go about it, but I'll tinker!

[PietFrancke]

Good idea, I'll try it.

BTW, is that your hand sticking out of the hole in the lower wall?

Nope - this is all you! My hand is not in this. I agree with Frank about the idea of blending in some of the surrounding colors on the figures. I am thinking that it isn't saturation that is off, it is that the colors are so "pure" - (uncontaminated by their surroundings)

I'm not entirely sure how to go about it, but I'll tinker!

sure you do (at least as well as the rest of us)… do a new layer, set it to color - make your brush equal to the surrounding color by hitting alt and clicking on color desired, and then dab that color lightly around the edges and even on your figures.

[minniev]

Nope - this is all you! My hand is not in this. I agree with Frank about the idea of blending in some of the surrounding colors on the figures. I am thinking that it isn't saturation that is off, it is that the colors are so "pure" - (uncontaminated by their surroundings)

I'm not entirely sure how to go about it, but I'll tinker!

sure you do (at least as well as the rest of us)… do a new layer, set it to color - make your brush equal to the surrounding color by hitting alt and clicking on color desired, and then dab that color lightly around the edges and even on your figures.

Well gee I didn’t think of that. Thanks!

[minniev]

Also think about clipping masks with your adjustments of the characters if they are cut out separately......I do see one hard round brush stroke above the owl, an inadvertent click no doubt..think of some of the surrounding color reflecting on to your characters as another way to blend them into the scene in addition to getting the light right.......

I’ve got clipping masks on each element but I don’t think I’ve done the right adjustments. Yikes that is an ugly blob on the owl! See Piet’s idea for the reflecting colored light, I’m gonna try it. But if you have another idea of how, tell me.

[Psjunkie]

he knows what he's talking about...there are always plenty of ways in Ps to accomplish the same thing but he's given good advice....

[PietFrancke]

he knows what he's talking about...there are always plenty of ways in Ps to accomplish the same thing but he's given good advice....

I wonder some times... I went to B/W, looked ok.. Then started thinking that the grass is nice and bright, so perhaps she should be too.. So I brightened her up and made the colors stronger and darkened the trees behind her to make her pop a little more. I don't know if this is better, but I'm guessing she was too flat before - compared to the rest of the image.

And also, she was looking too square dead on to me, so I did a box around her and a ctrl-t and the right clicked and made a perspective change to make her similar to the tower behind her (don't know if it helped, but I did it)..

edit - I think my perspective change pulled her into the air a little bit, cut off the legs, but at the end of the day I don't think what I did helped much... Perhaps just a unifying texture/color/filter or something, I don't know...

[minniev]

he knows what he's talking about...there are always plenty of ways in Ps to accomplish the same thing but he's given good advice....

I wonder some times... I went to B/W, looked ok.. Then started thinking that the grass is nice and bright, so perhaps she should be too.. So I brightened her up and made the colors stronger and darkened the trees behind her to make her pop a little more. I don't know if this is better, but I'm guessing she was too flat before - compared to the rest of the image.

And also, she was looking too square dead on to me, so I did a box around her and a ctrl-t and the right clicked and made a perspective change to make her similar to the tower behind her (don't know if it helped, but I did it)..

min-1.jpg

I agree with all you’ve said. The gal on the right is flat as a flitter. She does look better since you fooled with her. I need to puff her out some. This is the problem I’m trying to solve, icorprating one dimensional art elements into 2 dimensional photos. The other is rendered with a little more depth. The rose and owl and hand are pretty flat too. Will shading help? What else?